by Tim Myers
Alex said, “It’s not your fault, Smiley. You were right, I couldn’t have afforded any more insurance than I carried.”
Smiley had a small expression of relief on his face. “Get the money to you soon. Shouldn’t have to wait.”
“Don’t worry about it, old friend.”
Alex walked Smiley back to his truck and leaned in through the driver’s side window. “Do you think this jalopy will make it back into town, or should I follow you in case you don’t make it?”
Smiley shook his head slightly, the grin slowly returning to his face. “Wouldn’t suggest it. Just have to run you back out here when yours died. See you.”
Alex watched as Smiley drove off. Several of the firefighters were starting to leave, and Alex took a few moments to thank them for their help. He noticed Mor hanging around.
Alex said, “I heard you were the one to call in the fire. Thanks. What were you doing out here in the middle of the morning, anyway?”
Mor managed to look the slightest bit sheepish, while being defensive at the same time. “I came over to ask Elise out again. I wasted a trip, didn’t I? That must have been her fiance in the Porsche. Man, I know I can’t compete with that.” The handyman glanced at his watch and said, “I’d better get back to the shop before Les has to actually do a little work himself.”
As Mor joined some of the other firefighters in a truck that was pulling out, Alex glanced back at the remaining building. He saw a flurry of curtains on the top floor of what was left of his inn. Those rooms were open and unoccupied, and Alex wondered who could be watching him.
He was just heading for the door to investigate when
Chief Weston approached him. Alex noticed that he was the last firefighter to leave the site. “Well, I believe we got it all.”
Alex shook the little man’s hand. “Thanks for everything, Chief.”
Before leaving, Weston offered one last piece of advice. “I’d watch my step if I were you. Someone’s got it in for Hatteras West. I just hope they don’t finish the job they started today.”
Chapter 15
Alex was surprised to realize that he was hungry, despite the loss he’d just suffered. He decided to slap a sandwich together, grab a Coke from the fridge and go eat on Bear Rocks. He needed some time alone away from the burned wreckage to pull himself together.
He’d forgotten all about his plans for lunch with Sandra until he saw her car coming up the road.
When she got out, she said, “What happened to our lunch date?”
“I forgot all about it.” Was it possible she didn’t even notice that one of his buildings was gone?
“I heard about the fire. I’m sorry, Alex. Why don’t we go get something to eat and we can talk about what you should do next.”
“There’s nothing to discuss. I just need some time alone, Sandra.”
She raised one eyebrow. “Time alone, or alone with your new maid?”
“She’s off with her fiancé, Sandra.”
The smug look on her face was too much for Alex. He added, “Not that it matters. I don’t know how to say this, but I don’t think we should see each other anymore. You and I want different things out of life.”
Sandra stared intently at him. “You don’t mean that, Alex, you’re just distraught over the fire.” She smiled lightly, then said, “Everything will look better tomorrow,” as she started to get back into her car.
“I’m not going to change my mind, Sandra. I’m sorry. It’s over.”
Sandra realized suddenly that he was quite serious. She snapped, “Do you think if you’re suddenly free your little maid will drop her fiancé for you, Alex? It’s not going to happen.”
“Good-bye, Sandra,” Alex said.
She started to say something, changed her mind then pulled furiously out of the parking lot.
Finally, Alex was alone.
He was surprised to find that the only thing he felt was relief. Breaking up with Sandra had been a long time coming, and he tried to convince himself that it had nothing to do with Elise.
He was only partially successful.
Eating alone was not to be, though. Joel Grandy spotted Alex leaving the inn and asked if he could join him. Reluctantly, Alex agreed. The two men walked out to the granite rocks in silence. Alex could still smell smoke in the air.
Grandy said, “That was really some fire today. With all that wood in the walls and ceilings, it was bound to happen sooner or later.”
Grandy’s words brought Alex out of his own thoughts, and he didn’t care for the implications of the man’s comments. “The fire chief said it was arson. Nobody can prevent that, Mr. Grandy.”
Grandy tried to calm Alex with his words. “Say, get your feathers back down, boy, I didn’t mean anything by it. The reason I’ve tagged along out here is that I’ve been thinking about something I’ve been wanting to discuss with you, but it’s been tough getting you off by yourself.”
Alex, not caring to pursue the conversation, climbed up and perched in the lap of one of the boulders. Someone in his family had called it Mamma Bear Rock a long time ago, and sitting in the cradle of the stone, he could see why. The warm sun felt good on his face.
Alex took out his sandwich. “Sorry I can’t offer you much more than half of this.”
Grandy waved it away. “I had a big breakfast at Buck’s in town. You go ahead and eat. We can talk after you’re done.”
Grandy watched Alex finish his sandwich before speaking again. “I’ve grown kind of fond of this place, the lighthouse and all, and I was wondering if you’d consider selling it to me.”
Alex looked at Joel Grandy with new interest. “You wouldn’t happen to be represented by a real estate agent in town named Finster, would you?”
Grandy snorted. “I don’t have an agent, Alex. I’m asking you man to man. What would you take for the place?”
Alex shook his head. “It’s not for sale.” He made sure the tone in his voice was as uninviting as he could make it.
Joel Grandy leaned back against an upright rock and said, “I’ve been wheeling and dealing a long time, Alex, and one thing I’ve learned is that everything on this globe is for sale if the price and the conditions are right. What would you say to two hundred grand?”
Alex didn’t have any idea if Joel Grandy was just talking big, or if he actually had the funds to back up his offer. It didn’t matter to Alex either way. “I’d say someone else offered me two hundred and fifty thousand dollars this morning.”
Instead of putting Grandy off, Alex’s words elicited a laugh from the man that sounded like a donkey with a doughnut stuck in his throat. “Okay, then. How about an even three hundred thousand? I admit I was low-balling you, Alex. I hope you don’t mind my saying it, but you’re craftier than you look.”
Alex studied the man in silence, not trusting himself to speak.
Grandy spoke for him. “Oh, I get it. You don’t think I could raise that kind of money, do you? Let me show you something about not judging a book by its cover.” Grandy pulled a statement out of his pocket from a stockbrokerage house that showed his share value as of the first of the month.
“I had this sent down just in case you needed convincing.”
Alex saw that Grandy’s offer would barely put a dent in even one of the man’s holdings.
“Why would you want an old lighthouse and some granite rocks?”
Grandy grinned at him. “I could tell you it’s the lighthouse itself that draws me, but that’s only part of it I like these rocks, to be honest with you. They touch something in me I thought was long dead. I came out here in the fog last night, and I swear to you they seemed to come alive and dance in the mist. It took my breath away. There are other reasons that I’ll tell you straight out are none of your business, but I will say that my grandkids would love that tower of yours over there. Can you imagine a better fort than that?”
Alex smiled. “Yes, I rescued my fair share of maidens there in my mind. Seriously, though,
why buy the place? You could rent the inn for a month at a time and have Hatteras West all to yourself.”
Grandy rubbed the rock he was sitting on affectionately for a moment before answering. “Renting and owning are two different things. I want these rocks.”
Alex knew the feeling well. “Thanks for your interest, but none of my land is for sale.”
The older man stood up abruptly from his seat. “It’s not the money, is it?”
“Not entirely.”
Grandy thought about that for a moment. “Give it some thought anyway, and we’ll talk again. One thing, though.” He stuck one bony finger in the air toward Alex, and he could see a flicker of heat in Grandy’s eyes. “Don’t sell to anybody else without talking to me first. I wouldn’t want you to get hurt on the deal.”
“Is that a threat, Mr. Grandy?”
In an instant, the look of fire was hidden again in the old man’s eyes. Alex didn’t buy the “doddering old grandfather” routine for a minute.
Grandy eased his voice as he said, “Why would an old man like me threaten a young pup like you? I just meant that you shouldn’t take another offer without giving me a chance to put in my bid, that’s all. I might surprise you.”
As Alex watched Joel Grandy walk back down the path toward the inn, he silently admitted to himself that the old man had already surprised him. Alex kicked himself for not asking Grandy where he’d been when the fire had started this morning. As an amateur detective, he was turning out to be a failure.
No matter. Alex leaned back fully into Mamma Bear’s lap and let the heat from the sunshine-warmed granite seep into his bones.
He nearly fell asleep from the soothing warmth, but a sudden shift in the wind brought him fully back to his senses.
As he lay there, Alex decided to review the suspects who could have possibly killed Reg and started the fire, too.
Junior was out as a suspect, not just because Alex couldn’t believe the man had killed his own father, but because Alex had followed him all morning. Unless, of course, the younger Wellington knew how to start a delayed fire, which would allow him to torch the inn while establishing a perfect alibi for himself.
Alex knew there had to be a hundred different ways to accomplish a delayed blaze, though he didn’t have a clue how one would go about it. Reluctantly, he decided that Junior had to remain a suspect until more evidence came to light.
Alex then considered Joel Grandy. Could he have started the blaze in order to motivate Alex to sell the property? Then why did he kill Reg? He thought about the other people who had been around. Barb Matthews might have burned down the building out of sheer cussedness, Finster was that mean too, but neither one of them had an apparent reason to kill Reg.
As much as Alex hated to consider the prospect, Mor could have easily set the fire before reporting it. But then again, why kill Reg? And how did Emma Sturbridge’s fall factor into the equation?
Perhaps Armstrong and Hicking were right about Emma’s fall. It could have been an accident. He wished she would come out of her coma so she could tell him what had really happened.
By the time Alex was ready to go back to the inn, it was late afternoon. Already the sun had started its decline behind a large stand of white pines that bordered the western edge of the property. As he started to get up, Alex felt something in his neck catch. He tried to work the kink out by moving his head back and forth, but it didn’t seem to help at all.
He really shouldn’t have stayed away from the inn so long. For the first time since taking over Hatteras West, Alex had put his own concerns ahead of those of his guests. He walked stiffly down the path to the inn, pausing only for a moment to survey the scorched earth where the main keeper’s house had stood. The ground was nothing but a black, soggy mess.
When Alex entered the remaining building, he nearly ran into Barb Matthews. Her eyes lit up the second she saw Alex. “Can’t you protect your guests? That fire could have easily spread to this building. You know that, don’t you?”
Alex smiled thinly. “It’s good to see you escaped the fire unharmed, Mrs. Matthews.”
“Unharmed? I’ve been coughing up soot and smoke ever since those firemen came.” The woman tapped her
dragonhead cane on Alex’s chest. “No help from you, that’s for sure. If it weren’t for that handsome young man warning us about the fire, we might have all perished.”
It looked like there was a new Mor Pendleton fan.
Alex said gently, “I’m just glad everyone’s safe.”
When the woman saw that Alex wasn’t going to rise to her bait, she stormed out the front door.
Junior came out of the hallway and said, “Good, she’s gone.” He rubbed his chest gently. “She tapped me so hard I think she left a bruise.”
Alex smiled slightly. “She’s a real ray of sunshine, isn’t she?”
Junior said, “Do you have any plans for dinner? We could grab a quick bite and play a little chess, if you’re interested. It might take our minds off our troubles.”
Alex was suddenly glad for the older man’s company. He made a couple of sandwiches in his kitchenette while Junior set up the chessboard.
Alex carried the platter of sandwiches out to the lobby.
Junior surveyed the offering with a smile. “Now all we need is something to drink.”
Alex could name a few other things he needed more, but he suddenly remembered life had been no picnic for his dinner companion, either. The man had just lost his father and was now the sheriff’s prime suspect in the murder investigation.
Alex went back to the refrigerator and pulled out two Cokes. As he handed one to Junior, he asked, “Sorry I’m out of beer. How are you holding up?”
A frown crossed the man’s face. Junior said, “For some reason, the police refuse to release Dad’s body. He always wanted to be cremated, so as soon as they let him go, we’ll have a quiet memorial service. Can I ask you a favor, Alex?”
“Name it.”
In a steady voice, Junior said, “This was Dad’s favorite place on earth. He loved Hatteras West more than he loved his own home. Could we spread his ashes from the observation deck, or do you think that would be too gruesome, considering the fact that he died up there?”
Alex patted Junior’s shoulder. “I think Reg would have loved it.”
As they ate their meal, Alex told Junior one of his favorite stories about Reg. “I don’t know if you’re aware of it, but your dad was a real influence on my life. I remember a time when I was twelve years old and in a really rebellious phase of my life against every adult in the world. Every adult except your dad. We took sleeping bags up to the top of the tower one night and decided to stay awake and watch the dawn. Man, the stories he could tell, about his early life growing up, his I time in the Marines, everything. He told me how proud he was the first time he saw you after you were born. Your father was a fine man.”
Junior shook his head sadly. “You know, you probably knew my father better than anyone else alive. I know he showed you more of himself than he ever did to me.”
Alex said, “It’s tough between fathers and sons. There are so many expectations. I don’t know why he picked me to be his friend, but part of the reason I’m the man I am today is because of him.” Junior nodded as he finished off the rest of his sandwich. “I’d like to stay around long enough to hear those stories Dad told you. Would you mind?”
“Of course not, but I thought you’d already made up your mind about leaving.”
Junior said, “Not until I know for sure what happened. Dad would have wanted it that way.” He looked intent as he added, “Besides, I really would like to see my father through your eyes.”
“I’ll do my best.” Alex picked up the white queen from the board. “Pick a hand.”
Junior was just about to choose when the front door swung open to reveal Sheriff Armstrong, along with SBI agent Sergeant Hicking.
And from the looks on their faces, they weren’t there to make a so
cial call.
Chapter 16
“What can I do for you gentlemen?” Alex asked.
Hicking walked into the room like he was repossessing it. “It’s not you we’ve come to see. Mr. Wellington? We need you to come downtown for some questioning.”
Junior looked up in shock. “What is wrong with you people? I swear on all that’s holy, I didn’t kill my father!”
Hicking said, “I’m not about to get into it here. Now, are you coming peacefully, or are we going to have to do this the hard way?”
Alex stood up. “Surely you don’t suspect the man’s own son. He told me himself he had nothing to gain from Reg’s death except a pound of headaches that come with the business.”
Hicking looked surprised. “Don’t you consider a million dollars worth of life insurance a good enough motive?”
Junior stammered, “I never knew anything about any insurance. What are you talking about?”
Hicking said, “We’ll discuss it downtown, Mr. Wellington.”
“Wait a minute,” Alex said. “Motive isn’t enough. There’s no way you can prove he was at the scene of the crime.”
Hicking looked smug, while Armstrong had a scowl on his face. The state policeman was evidently acting with the sheriff’s forced cooperation.
Hicking said, “There you’re wrong. We found a bloodstain on the clothes the sheriff collected earlier. The lab confirms there’s a strong possibility it was his father’s blood.”
Junior said, “This is ridiculous. Dad probably cut himself shaving and brushed up against me. We shared a bathroom here, after all.”
Alex said, “It does seem awfully circumstantial, Sergeant.”
Hicking ignored Alex completely. “We just want to ask you a few questions, Mr. Wellington, you’re not being formally arrested, yet. Now we can do it nice and easy, or we can get rough. But you are going with us, make no mistake about that.”
Junior got out of his chair and joined the two officers near the door.
